Washing machine



Abril 1l, 1933- s. c. `gl-wu-'FNER WASHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 25, ,1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENA SAMUEL C..SHAFFNER WMM Z6 @Lb ATTORNEY .l

April 1l, 1933.

ls. c. sHAFFNER `1,903,564

WASHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 23.' 1929 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'B1/MMT@ m ATTORNEY Patented Apr'.l Il, 1933 UNITED STATES SAMUEL C. SHAJIFNEB, OF CHICAGO, III'JI'JINOIS 'WASHING MACHINE Application med December 23, 1929. Serial No. 415,944.1.

' ,My invention relates to an improved construction of washingmachine by which the liquid and other materials employed may be thoroughly intermingled, and by v, which clothing, dishes and other articles may1 be thoroughly washed or cleaned, as desired. By my invention, I provide a casing for containin the liquid employed,.which casing also orms a part of the housing' of .thev motor emplo ed, thus materially reducing the cost and weight of the machine from what it would be if the motor had its own independent housing. The motor employed isv preferably of the electric type, having an impeller .of one kind'or another, mounted directly upon its shaft, thus eliminating all gearing and belting from the machine, the impeller being so housed in the casing that the liquid in the casing has imparted to it a of the machine, the basket 'for holdin rigid articles and the cylinder for holdin abrics being readily insertable and removab e to permit the use of the, machine in any manner desired. In some cases it may be ldesired tvo use the machine principally as a dish washing machine. or as a machine for washing other articles of rigid nature, and to facilitate this I provide a pipe of relatively small cross section which may be interchangeably mountvigorous circulation which is effective in mix- Jied in the machine With the gate used to deing the liquid and other materials employed, and is also'eiective in bringing the liquid into engagement with all parts of the articles being washed or cleaned. The casing of the machine is provided with ample and unrestricted passageways for the iow of the liquid directly to the impeller the path of iow ofH the liquid being restricted adjacent the impeller to effectively produce iuid flow by the impeller and a passageway is lrovided from through my machine, taken through the shaft the impeller, to deliver .the liquid into the casing of the machine in a thin sheet across the entire bottom wall of the casing, 'and at lhigh velocity against a curved wall of the 5 casing, to thoroughly agitate the articles being'washed or cleaned ifthey are fabrics of one kind or another, or to effectively reach all surfaces of the articles being washed or cleaned7 if they: are dishes or similar inflexible and rigid articles. In my construction, I further provide cap members for engagement with the casin'g, to complete the motor housing and prevent liquid entering said housing, and to complete the liquid passageway adjacent the impeller, so that by removing these cap members, the motor stampings, the motor shaft and the. impeller may be installed or removed as desired, as a unit.

',My machine may be used either with or without a rotary cylinder, as desired, when vmodified type .of impel1 er,y

termine the velocity of ow of the .liquid from the impeller, to the end that the liquid may be projectedA forcibly from discharge apertures over the articles being washed or cleaned.

My invention 'will reference to the' accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical, central, sectional view of the motor and transversely of the axis of the cylinder, this view being taken along the line 1-1 in Fig. 2,

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is ya vertical sectionall View of the casing of tlfe machine shown in Fig. 1, taken along the line 3 3,

Fig. .4 shows in perspective view a basket that may be used in connection with the ma chine,

Fig. 5 shows in front elevation to an enlar ed scale a protective grid which eraly employed ,in the machine,

`Fig, 6 shows in a view similar to Fig. 1

is prefbest be understood by l a part of the casing of the machine and a Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the parts shown in Fig.,6 taken along the line 7"(,

vus

` a hardened steel ball 21V is pre Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through a liquid discharge pipe and nozzle construction that may be used with the machine, and

Fig. 9 is a bottom view to an enlarged scale of the nozzle construction shown in Fig. 8 taken along the line 9-9.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the machine consists of a casing 10 which preferably is of cast metal, for example adie casting, which may be conveniently made in two symmetrical parts joined in any convenient manner, for example by acetylene weldin along the plane indicated by line 1-1 in ig. 2. The side wall 11 of the casing is provided with a semi-c lindrical recess 12 constitutinghalf of the ousing of the motor employed to operate the machine, which motor, as indicated in Fig. 1, is provided with an armature or rotor 13 mounted on a vertical shaft 14, field magnets 15 and field windings 16, it being understood that any desired type of motor may be employed. The side wall 11 of the casing is provided with small recesses co-axial with the shaft 14 to support the bearings 17 and 18 of the motor.` A` flanged cap member 19, semi-cylindrical in form and having recesses in `it similar to the recess 12 and the bearing recesses in the side wall 11, is secured to the side wall 11 in any convenient manner, for example by screws 20, to com lete the motor housing and the sup- 'ports or the bearings 17 and 18. In this manner, the parts of the motor arev held in `properrelative position by ythe' sidewall 11 and the cap member 19 and an independent housing for the motor is not required. The

shaft 14 tends, as will be described, to move u Ward thrust erably placed between the upper end of the shaft and the end of the recess for the bearing 17, said ball being surroundedv preferably by iibrous'material 22 which serves the double purpose of holding the ball 21 centrally in its recess, and holding oil to lubrcate the ball and shaft,

upwardly, and to take the -which oil may be supplied to the material 22 through an oil hole 23. l

Below'the recess 12, the side wallf 11 is provided with' a second recess 24 to receive a stuffing box 25'around the shaft 14, where said shaft enters the impeller compartment 26 of the machine. `The shaft 14 hasfrigidly secured thereto in said ellerl compart ment, an impeller 27 which, or the construction shown in Fig. 1 is preferably of thetype producing a thrust axially of the shaft and 'downwardly on the liquid, when the shaft is rotated. vThe impeller compartment 26 consists in part of a semi-cylinder passageway 28-formed in the casing 10 and-in part of a similar passageway 1n a `flanged cap member- 29, secured to the side wall 11 in any suitable 05 manner, for example by screws 30 as indioutwardly to the end walls of the casing 10 inthe form of partitions 31 and 32, which `preferably incline upwardly slightly to direct liquid in the casing downwardly tothe impeller compartment. The upper end of the impeller compartment is suliciently below the lower end of the recess 24, so that the liquid in the casing 10 may flow freely below the recess 24 into the impeller compartment. The lower end of the impeller compartment is continued by oblique walls 33 and 34 extending to the end walls of the casing adjacent its bottom wall, to direct the liquid delivered from the impeller 27 downwardly and laterally across the bottom wall of the machine. The inner edges of the partitions 31, 32, 33 and 34 are preferably connected by an integral vertical wall 35 form'- at high velocity in the direction of the arrow 38.

The cap member 29 at its upper edge, c-o-l operates with. theadjacent' edge of the side wall 11 to support a threaded sleeve 39 forming ,a bearing for the shaft 14 above the im'- peller` 27 which sleeve is held in place by a nut 40, suitable packing material being preferably disposedunder the nut 4() and the flanged head ofthe threaded sleeve 39, to make a tight joint between the sleeve and the adjacent portions of the cap member 29 and side wall 11. The upper end of the sleeve 39 has threaded thereon, the stuiiing box 25, by which leakage around theshaft 14 through the sleeve 39 is prevented.

The liquid delivered from the impeller 27 in the direction indicated by the arrow 38, engages the cylindrically shaped side wall'42 of the casing, the curvature of which is carried part way across the bottom wall of the casing, so that the liquid will engage this cylindrically shaped surface tangentially and be deflected .by it upwardly to impart a whirling motion to the liquid in the casing 10. The upper edges of the side walls 11 and 42 are provided with ears 43 and 44-through which rods 45 and 46 extend to support hantending from a cover 50, having a downwardly extending flange 51 fitting the upper edge of the casing to close the machine. The edge of the cover 50 adjacent the handle 47, is preferably provided with a spring clip 52 engaging thehandle 47 forthe closed position of the cover so that it is retained inits closed position, the clip 52 also providing a means for readily opening the cover when 1o desired.' The cover' 50 is preferably provided adjacent the side wall 42 with a curved.

deector 53 extending from end to end of the machine to receive thewhirling liquidl from the upper portion of the side wall 42 and direct it downwardly into the central portion of the casing, said deflector being secured preferably to the flange 51 of the cover in any 'convenient manner, for example by screws 54 as indicated.

Within the casing 10, a cylinder 55 is mounted for rotation in bearings 56 carried by the endwalls of the casing, which cylinder consists of end Walls 57 held parallel with and adjacent the end walls vof the casing, by cross ribs 58, between which y:perforated screensf59-extend to retain the contents of the cylinder during a washing operation. The end walls 57 of the cylinder are preferably mounted co-axially with and adjacent to the result of which the liquid delivered against the side wall 42 strikes the ribs 58 and rotates the cylinder in the direction of the arrow 60. The screens 59 are of suiliciently large mesh so that the liquid may freely enter and leave the cylinder and they are of suiiiciently small mesh so as to retain small articles in the cylinder. The ribs 58 preferably project outwardly beyond the screens 59 a.A

The cylinder is provided with a door consisting of end bars 61 pivotally nounted on a rod 62 supportedby the end Walls=57 of the cylinder, between which bars, ribs 58a similar to the ribs 58, extend, and between which ribs 58a and the rod 62, screens 59a similar tothe screens 59 are disposed. The ends of.

the bars v61 remote from the rod 62, arepreferbly extended inwardly as indicated at 61a, to receive spring actuated catches 63 carried by the end walls 57 of the cylinder, to hold the door in-closed position.

To revent bits-of fabric and lint from j coueamg 'on the impeller 27, I and it de cylindrical surface of the side wall 42 as a A sirable to place a screen 64 of relatively Dfine mesh across the path of the liquid flow as it approaches the impeller,'this screen being preferably secured to the sidewall 11 and to the wall 35 and extending from `end to end of the machine. V l j The bottom wall of the casing adjacent the arrow 38 is preferably inclined upwardly above the tangential lane of the surface of the wall 42, suicient y to direct the flow of r liquid againstthe ribs 58 and 58a, to insure positive en agement between the liquid and the ribs.l i 65 and 66 which are preferably integral with the casing and provided at their lower ends with pads 67 of resilientmaterial, for example rubber. The foot 65 may conveniently be located inthe plane indicated by the line'l-l in Fig. 2 so that it is formed in part on each of the portions of thecasing during he casing 10 is provided with feet t the casting of the same, which facilitates the insertion of the pad 67 in the foot in assembling the machine. The feet 66 are preferably located adjacent the ends of the cap -member 29 and so disposed thathalf of each of these feet, consists of an extension from the casing, and the other half consists of an;

extension from the cap member, so thatlthe pads 67 may be conveniently located in the feet when the cap member 29 is applied to the casing. The capmember 29 is preferably .provided with an extension 68 having an aperture in its lower wall to receive a plug 69 carried by the lower end of a rod 7 0 extending through a stuffing box in the upper lWall of the extension 68, the upper end of the rod 70 having secured thereto a handle 71 by ywhich the rod may be raised and lowered as desired. The plug` 69 constitutes an outlet valve for the machine, lto drain theliquid from the casing when desired. With the exception of the extension 68 and the partscarried thereby, the machine is preferably symmetrical about the plane-indicated by the line 1-1 in Fig. 2.

From the-construction described, it willk be understood that desired articles may be washed or cleaned by placing them in the cylinder 55 and placing in the casing, the liquid or materials tovbe used toefect the washing or cleaning, which liquid or materials may have aA depth such that suicient clear space will'be. left above it to vpermit the free circulation of the liquid through the casing and through theimpeller. The vigferons circulation of the liquid resulting from the action of the impeller, and the tumbling of the articles in the cylinder, bring all parts of the articles into contact with the rapidly moving liquid and effective washing -or cases, it is desirable to use the machine without the cylinder 55, in which case the cylinder may be readilylifted from its bearings 56 and removed from the casing andthe cleaning `of the articles is secured. In some washing or'cleaning operation may proceed by placing the articles to be washed or cleaned in. the casing itself, in which event the rapidly moving liquid, due to its circular motion against the end wall 42 and against the defiector 53, agitates the fabric or other articles being washed or cleaned,'to bring all portions of the fabric or articles into contact with the liquid and thus effect the cleaning opera-tion.

In cases Where the cylinder-55 is not used, I find it desirable to prevent the articles, particularly if they be fabrics, from directly en-A gaging the screen 64, since their engagement with thevscreen 64 would tend to prevent the free flow of the liquid to the impeller 27. To secure this result, I preferably provide a grid 72 across the path of the liquid flow adjacent the screen 64, which grid as more clearly shown in Fig. 5, consists of a plurality of bars or rods 72a extending vertically between upper and lower cross bars 7 3 and 74, the grid being of a suflicient width to extend from end to end of the machine. The grid 72 may be conveniently supported in the machine by hooks 75 extending inwardly from the upper portion of the side wall 1l, the thickness vof the flange 5l being preferably sufficient. to cover the bar 7 3. and the hooks 75, to prevent the possibility of fabrics being washed or cleaned, catching onl the hooks 75. This construction permits the ready removal of the grid 72 from the hooks 75 and from the machine when it is not desired to use the grid, for example when the cylinder 55a is employed to contain the articles being washed or cleaned. y

It will vbe understood that any materials whatever that are adapted to wash or clean articles, where the resulting washing or cleaning medium is in liquid form, may be employed in my machine, and that any articles which can conveniently be located in the machine and which are susceptible of such washin lor cleaning, can be washed or cleaned by t e operation of my machine. find that the vigorous circulation produced bythe impellerl and the agitation'of 'the liquid resulting from its passage through the machine, effectively mixes the materials of the cleaning medium and that in fact my machine may be used effectively as a mixing machine where Vit is desired to thoroughly mix materials at least one of which is a liquid. My machine is also particularly effective in connection with all kinds of washing operations where water and soap. or equivalent materials are employed and for all forms of dry cleaning operatlons where liquids which are good solvents of grease and dirt are employed, for example gasoline. I

' While in Fig. l Iv show an ,impeller 27 of the type producing a thrust on the circulating liquid, axially of the shaft 14, it will be understood that any other type of lwoz-3,564

of impeller of the centrifugal type, by which" the liquid isforced outwardly in radial directions from the impeller. In ,this construction, the shaft 14a extends through a stuffing box 25a and bearing 39a and has secured to its lower end an impeller 27a having radially disposed curved blades 271). The impeller 27av is mounted in a housing 28a having a progressively increasing radial clearance between the outer edges of the blades 27,?) and the inner surface of the hous-A ing 280s-, as a result lof which, when the impeller is rotated in the direction of the arrow, liquid entering through the aperture 86and engaged by the blades, is projected vigorously outwardly in a radial direction and forced through a discharge passageway 76 in substantiallythe manner in which the liquid is discharged edectively by the impeller 27, the construction of the machine not shown in Figs. 6 and 7 being preferably the same as a Wire basket, for example of the construction shown at 77 in Fig. 4 is employed to` contain the dishes to be washed. The basket 7 7` is provided with upwardly extending ears 78 for engagement with short pins 79 extending inwardly from the end walls of the casing l0 so that when the basket is lowered into ythe casing, the ears 78 'will rest n said pins and hold the bottom of the basket above the bottom of the casing'. The basket is preferably of a `si-ze leaving a clear space adjacent the curved surface of the side wall 42, as a result of which the washing liquid, for rrfple soapand water moves zfreely along the surface of the wall 42 andsagainst the deflector 53, by which it is projected downv` wardly against the dishes to wash them. Where lit is desirable to use the machine principally or entirely as a dish washing machine, this result maybe somewhat more effectively accomplished by removing the 'Y gate 36 by removing the screws 37, and .sub-

stituting for it the construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9, which consists of va pipe 80- of flat cross section, conformed to rest against the inner curved surface of the side Wall 42 andffthe adjacent bottom surface of the casing, the\ lower end of the pipe being broadened to'` extend substantially from end to end of the machine and hav-ing an upwardly extending fiange 8.1 atits lower end to receive the 'screws 37 by which the pipe may be held in position to receive the liquid discharged by the impeller 27. The pipe 80 is continued until it is adjacent the upper edge of the side wall 42 where it is provided with a pivot rod 82 engaging the adjacent end of a horizontal pipe section 83, theother end of which communicates lwith a nozzle member 84 having a plurality of discharge openings, for example slits 85 through its lower surface. The pivot rod 82 permits the pipel 83 and nozzlemember 84 to be moved out of the path of the basket 77 when it is desired to place the basket in the machine and remove it'therefrom, and with the pipe 83 in its operating position, thenozzle 84 is disposed over the basket so that the streams of liquid emerging from the nozzle member are forcibly projected against the dishes contained in the basket 77. A similar pipe construction may'7 be used with impellers of the type shown in Figs. 6 and 7, if,y

desired.

While I'have shown m invention in the particular embodiment a ove described, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to this exact construction as I may employ equivalents known to the art at the time of the filing of this lapplication without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claimis:

1. -In a machine of the class described, the

. combination of a casing having side and bottom walls, a motor comprising a rotor and a vfield magnet, a shaft extending from said motor, an impeller carried by said shaft there being passageways for directing liquid in said casing to said impeller and from the latter into the casing in a circulatory path, one of said side walls having a recess constituting said side wall a support for said field magnet, a first ca member detachably connected with said-si e wall-'and enclosing said motor and clamping said field magnet y'on its said support, and a second cap member detachably connected with said side Wall and enclosing said impeller.

2. In a'machine of the class described, the combination of a casing having side and bottom walls, a motor, a shaft extending from said motor, an impeller carried by said shaft,

there being passageways for directing liquid` in said casing to said impeller and from the latter into the casing in a circulatory path, one of said side walls having a recess constituting said side Wall a part .ofthe' housing for said motor, a first cap member detachably connected with said side wall and enclosing said motor and constituting the remainder of said housing, and a second capv member detachably connected with said side wall and enclosing said impeller, said cap members having a common plane of engagement with said recessed side wall extending Alongitudinally through said shaft, whereby ,removing said cap4 members permits the insertion and removal of said shaft and attached parts as a. unit.

p 3. In a machine ofthe class described, the combination of a casing having side and bottom walls, a motor, a shaft extending from said motor, an impeller carried'by said shaft,

there being passageways for directing liquid in said casing to said impeller and from the latter into the casing in a circulatory path, one of said side walls having a recess con-l stitutin said side wall a part of the housing for sai motor, a first cap member detachably connected with said side wall and-enf I said impeller, a cylinder having a perforate lside wall, and bearings mounting said cylinder in said casing adjacent said curved wall and substantially parallel therewith for rotation by. liquid iowing on said curved wall, said cylinder having longitudinal ribs along its outer surface extending into said cylinder to tumble 'the contents thereof during operation of the machine.

4. In a machine ofthe class described, the combination of a casing having side and bottom walls, a motor, a shaft .extending from-said motor, an impeller carried by said shaft, there being passageways for directing liquid in said casingto said impeller and from the latter. into the casing in a circulatory path, one of said side walls having a recess constituting` said side wall a part of the housing for said motor, a first ca member detachably connected with said si e wall and enclosing said motor and constituting the remainder of said housing, a

second cap member detachably connected 'with said side wall and enclosing said imwall of said casing and having a draining 5. In a machine of the class described, the,`

combination of a casing having side and bottom walls, a motor, a shaft extend' from said motor, an impeller carried by sai shaft, there being passageways for directing liquid in said casing to said impeller and from the latter into the casing lin avcirculatory path, a grid having vertically extending bars and vertically suspended in the path of liqluid flow to said impeller, and dey engaging the upper portion of vices` leose said grid and permitting its ready insertion and removal as desired.

side wall and enclosing said motor and con stituting the remainder of said housing, a second cap member detachably connected with said side wall and enclosing said impeller, and a pipe for receiving liquid from said impeller and directing said liquid to the upper part of said casing and there delivering itdownwardly in said casing.

7 In a machine of the class described, the combination of a casing having side and bottom walls, a motor, a shaft extending from said motor, an impeller carried by said shaft, there being passageways for directing liquid in said casing to said impeller and from the latter into the casing in a circulatory path, one of said side walls having a recess constitutng said, side wall a part of the housing for said motor, a first cap member detachably connected with said side wall and enclosing said motor and constituting the-remainder of said housing, a second cap member detachably connected with'said side wall and enclosing said impeller and a pipe extending from adjacent said impeller to the upper part of said casing to deliver liquid from said impeller downwardly into said casing, said vmi kpipe having a hinged joint in its upper portion permitting moving the upper part of the pipe from `the upper part of saidcasing when vplacing articles in and removing the same from the casing. Y

.8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a casing for receiving articles to be cleaned, a water impeller, ,said casing having supply and discharge passages communicatin with said impeller, a shaft supporting sai impeller and extending therefrom, bearings Ifor said shaft, a iirst motor element comprising a rotor secured to said shaft, a second motor. element surrounding sald rotor and co-operating therewith, 'said casing havlng a conformation constituting a y support for said .second motor element and said shaft bearings, `and a cap detachably connected with said casing and enclosing said motor elements and clamping said second motor element and said shaft bearings in casingl having a conformation constituting a support for said second motor element and said shaft bearings, a first cap detachably connected with said casing and enclosing said motor elements and clampin said second motor element and said sha t bearings in place, whereby said casing-and saidv cap constitute the frame housing of said motor elements, said casing having a recess constituting a part of the impeller compartment, and a second cap detachably connected with said casing and constituting the remaining part of the impeller compartment', whereby with said caps removed said shaft and the parts secured thereto may be removed as a unitary structure'and attaching said rst cap tov said casing assembles and holds the motor elements in operative, relation.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe mygname this 20th day of December, A. D. 192 i SAMUEL C. SHAFFNER.

sol

place, whereby said casing and said cap constitute the frame housing of said motor elements. l

' 9. In a machine of the class described, the comblnation of a casing for receiving articles 

